Chaibasa court asks Rahul Gandhi to appear in defamation case before June 26

A non-bailable warrant has been issued against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case by an MP-MLA court in Chaibasa, Jharkhand. He is required to appear in person before the court on June 26. The lawsuit, initiated by BJP leader Pratap Katiyar, pertains to comments made by Rahul Gandhi against Home Minister Amit Shah during the Congress's plenary session in 2018, India Today reported. 

During his speech, Gandhi reportedly stated that even an individual facing "murder charges" could potentially become the president of the BJP. Contending that Gandhi's statement was defamatory towards all BJP members, Katiyar lodged a complaint against him on July 9, 2018, at the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Chaibasa.

Upon the Jharkhand High Court's instruction, the defamation case was transferred to the MP-MLA court in Ranchi in February 2020. The case was eventually referred back to the MP-MLA court in Chaibasa, where the magistrate acknowledged the issue and issued a summons to the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Last week, a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a Sultanpur court was unable to proceed on Saturday as scheduled, due to a lawyers' workshop taking place. The lawsuit was filed in 2018 by local BJP politician Vijay Mishra, in response to alleged derogatory comments made by Gandhi about senior party leader Amit Shah during the Karnataka assembly elections. 

The complainant's legal representative, Santosh Kumar Pandey, explained that all lawyers were engaged in the workshop, leading to the postponement of the hearing until June 2. At the previous hearing on April 28, a witness was cross-examined before the special MP/MLA court.

After a five-year legal battle, a warrant was issued against Gandhi by the court in December 2023. Gandhi voluntarily surrendered before the court in February 2024 and was granted bail by the special magistrate upon providing two sureties of Rs 25,000 each.

Gandhi maintained his innocence and denounced the case as a political conspiracy during his statement before the court on July 26, 2024.

Several hearings earlier in the year had been postponed due to a lawyers' strike and the ill health of Gandhi's counsel.